Saudi Arabia
Israel’s Government Press Office released a transcript of the Israeli prime minister’s remarks.
The U.S. secretary of state spoke a about Israeli-Saudi relations and about the $6 billion transferred to Iran in interviews Wednesday on Good Morning America and on The Today Show.
The Turkish leader supports Israel-Saudi normalization, sources say.
Riyadh reportedly asked Washington to freeze negotiations over the Netanyahu government’s stance on concessions to the Palestinians.
The Emirates’ ambassador to the U.S. said the Israeli commitment to suspend sovereignty plans for Judea and Samaria expires in 2024.
The top U.S. diplomat said that for Riyadh, too, progress on the Palestinian issue was necessary for the normalization process to move forward.
Democratic antipathy to the Saudi regime could prove the biggest obstacle to normalization with Israel.
“Biden’s team holds grudges. It will never appreciate Israel for the ally it is,” said Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute.
The delegation is in the kingdom for a UNESCO meeting.
The development comes amid a U.S.-led effort to persuade Riyadh to join the Abraham Accords.
Much depends on the hoped for normalization in Saudi-Israel ties.
Riyadh is the “preeminent target of the expansion of the Abraham Accords,” says chargé d’affaires in Jerusalem Stephanie Hallett.
